Maia Song Contest

The Maia Song Contest, abbreviated as MSC, is a televised song contest held between countries represented in the Maia Broadcasting Union since May 2016. The show will be watched internationally across most of the Maia world, and will also be broadcasted over the internet, via the Maia Song Contest website.

Eligble participants are active MBU members, who must submit an original song to be performed on live television and radio. They also cast votes which translate into points which are then awarded to the most popular songs from each country. The winner is the country with the most points at the end of voting, who also earn the right to host the next edition. All entries must abide by the contest rules.

As of #2, countries must qualify from one of two semi-finals. Hosting nations automatically qualify to the grand final, as well as the other five highest-scoring entries in the previous contest. Prior to #13, it was only the hosts and the four highest-scoring countries in the previous contest were given automatic qualification privileges.

The latest winner of the contest is Foals, who represented Arkaystia with the song "The Runner".

History
On 29 May 2016, the Maia Broadcasting Union was formed. It was decided by early members of this organisation that a song contest should be held to improve foreign relations between countries, as well as provide entertainment to the masses and a platform for artists, which took shape in the form of the Maia Song Contest. The first edition contained only 24 participants, with the first country to win the contest being Oxenryd, who scored 111 points over runner-up Kashykia.

Contest logo and theme
The generic logo was introduced in the first edition, designed by the host, to create a consistent visual identity. It consists of the contest name and also contains the trademark contest diamond. The hosting country's flag traditionally appears within the diamond of the generic logo. Each edition of the contest, the host country collaborates with the MBU to create a theme, which graphics and designs are created alongside.

Winners
So far, there have been twenty-one winning countries - Uslye, Cordence, Urtistan, Klapaucius, Izola, Cionova, Samavia, Lussantia, Braissash, Rhoe, Qualton, Tír Faerálta, Wolfestan and Eiragarw have all won once. D'unelaleh, Kashykia, Oxenryd and Temekylopia have won the contest twice and Loafousia has won the contest four times, whereas Arkaystia has won the contest five times.

Participation
83 countries have participated in the contest at least once. These are listed below alongside the edition in which they made their debut:

Spin-offs
A number of spin-offs of the Maia Song Contest have been produced by different broadcasters, some national and others international.

Similar competitions include;


 * Christmas in Maia, a one-off edition organised by TSBN for Christmas-themed music, held between members of the Maia Broadcasting Union.
 * CupcakKeFest, a one-off edition organized by TSBN for CupcakKe remixes and mashups, held between members of the Maia Broadcasting Union.
 * Gluggaveður Morgenfrisk, a competition between Lazani artists first held in Matildefjord.
 * MaiAnime Song Contest, a one-off edition organized by ORBN for Anime and J-Pop themed songs
 * Maia Throwback Contest (90's edition), a contest based around songs released in the 1990's.
 * Mascvision Song Contest, a contest created by Lussantian broadcaster FLBS open exclusively to male artists.
 * Tears Song Contest, organised by the Lussantian broadcaster FLBS and limits participating countries to sad and/or slow songs.
 * Turbovision, held in Kashykia, held between MBU members (plus Ostana and Mischen), to promote music of the turbo-folk genre.